Admission to hospital for injury during COVID-19 alert level restrictions

To assess the effects of the community lockdown phases on trauma-related admissions to Midland region hospitals over the period 15 February to 10 July 2020, and to compare volume variation with the same period in the previous three years.

A retrospective, descriptive study of prospectively collected data from the Midland Trauma Registry in New Zealand.

There was a 36.7% (p<.00001) reduction in injury admissions during Alert Level 4 ('Lockdown') compared with the same period in 2017, 2018 and 2019. This was in the context of volume increases during the pre-lockdown period (17.8%, p<.00001) and a 'rebound' as restrictions eased. There was an increase in injuries occurring at home (28.3%, p<.00001) and on footpaths (37.9%, p=0.00076), while there was a decline in events on roads (33.0%, p=0.017), at schools (75.0%, p<.00001) and in sports areas (79.7%, p<.00001). Falls remained the dominant mechanism of injury in 2020, contributing 39.9% of all hospitalisations.

The reduction in hospital admissions during alert levels 4 and 3 was short lived, with a rebound evident when restrictions eased. Hospital resources have been strained because this rebound coincided with a planned 'catch up' on healthcare that was delayed during the higher community restriction levels.